Being in the Temple just before Christmas was very sweet and heartwarming. We were asked by many of the workers and patrons what our plans were for Christmas because they did not want us to celebrate Christmas all alone and away from our family. We told them that we would be spending time with Judy's brother Harold and his wife Carmen, who are on a mission in Germany and also with Henk's brother Thijs and his wife Ans, who live here in the Netherlands so we were not alone and we were with family too.
On Saturday afternoon,we drove to the little village of Northeim in Germany where Harold and Carmen live. It is nestled in the rolling hills so common in this part of the country.
They took us to see a Christmas Market in Wernigerode which is not too far from where they live. This was our first time to see a German Christmas market, and if you were to describe it in one word, that word would be "magical"! This would put anyone in the Christmas spirit.
The old, beautiful buildings, the Christmas decorations, the lights, the people, the music, and especially the smell of wonderful German food. We have never seen this much sausage in one place, too bad it was Sunday, we could not buy anything.
As we explored the city around the market square, we found ourselves walking down narrow, old cobble stone streets, and imagined ourselves in the time of "A Christmas Carol" or "Oliver Twist", expecting characters like old Bob Cratchit or Fagin coming down the road, though that was in a different country, the scenes were much the same
That morning we had gone to Church in Goetingen and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas program and talks. We were especially touched by the reading of the Christmas Story from Luke by a cute little nine year old girl. Her family is living here temporarily, they are from the Philippines while the Dad is teaching at the university. Though they have only been here for just over a year, she spoke fluent German with all the rolling r's and sounds. Just shows you that kids can learn anything.
We visited an old monastery from the early 1200's and again enjoyed the history that must have played itself out there. Henk kept saying: "if only the old trees and buildings could talk!"
We even followed the copper rat markings among the cobblestones which led to the Weser river.
thousand years old.One cannot help but feel a real reverence, as you sit there, for those who build these beautiful edifices.
And yet today they are almost empty because very few people are interested in religion. We have much work to do, to gather Israel in before the Second Coming of the Lord.
On our way home we visited with Henk's brother and sister in law in Holland. It was good to be home again and get ourselves ready to serve at the Temple.
Here we are in the Philippines listening to Germans speaking Cebuano and Tagalog and Filipino Elders learning a little German while you listen to a young Filipina speak fluent German. When my language learning center is actvated, I sometimes speak German instead of Cebuano. I wish I had a young language learning brain. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all over the world!
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